itchy cob legs! injection good or bad?

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cg91

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Ok I had my vet up to dope my hairy boy so I could clip him and start trying to sort his itchy problems. He has a few scabby lumps and the vet said he more than likely has mites. I have used flea sprays, hibiscrub, stinky stuff, mineral oils etc and the poor git still seems to be tortured with a never ending itch. Last owner got him the injection before dectomax and said it really helped, but I've seen a few people say some vets won't administer it and it could have a very bad reaction on him which is scaring me now!
 
My horse had bad mites with horrid scabby lumps, I cut off the big bits with scissors and clipped his legs (got kicked a couple times! they were very sore) and all seemed to settled down. Took him hunting and the next day where his boots had been, he came up in huge scabbed up weeping sores, he waddled down the field it was so painful and couldn't trot. All of his legs had swollen up too. Vet came out immediately and gave him antibiotic and the mite injection (can't remember what it was, said it was used on cattle). He has been so much better since, he needs another injection soon to top it up. I took him hunting last weekend and he had no problems with his boots :) I do have to keep on top of the clipping though. I find after feeding micronized linseed his skin has improved a lot too, he used to have really dry skin this time last year and that made his scabs worse, he has a really shiny healthy coat now with no dry flakes.
 
Oh i had never heard bad reactions etc but our little coblet mare had it after we clipped her legs after mite suspicion and it worked very well. No hesitation to have it again if needed
 
Yes I usually keep his legs clipped but he lived out all summer so they did get a bit hairy! I've used baby oil etc on his legs and his gets flax oil in his feed so his scabs have really improved but he's just so darn itchy he's always stomping! I'm hoping to get the vet up for the injection I just got worried
 
A few vets I've spoken to really rates Dectomax (Doramectin) jab particularly for horses who really struggle with mites or cushings horses that struggle with controlling parasites. However it's not licensed for horses and the drug company don't recommend it to be used for them . If he's had the jab before and been fine I wouldn't be worried.
 
Amicus said:
A few vets I've spoken to really rates Dectomax (Doramectin) jab particularly for horses who really struggle with mites or cushings horses that struggle with controlling parasites. However it's not licensed for horses and the drug company don't recommend it to be used for them . If he's had the jab before and been fine I wouldn't be worried.
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I would be worried about the risk of laminitis and I would be even more worried about laminitis in a cushings horse. There is one young horse on another forum that ended up with laminitis after a dectomax injection very recently.
 
Is there any way to treat and keep feathers on my lad shows in the summer but has a bad mite problem which could do with being delt with have tried pigs oil and jabs to no avail
 
My cob has been a fairly chronic mite sufferer - he has scars on his legs to prove it! The scar damage stems from his younger days when he was fully feathered and I suspect turned out without the issue being fully noticed.

What we have done is had vet give Dectomax injection (twice about 12 days apart, as this breaks the mite breeding cycle - Dectomax doesn't kill unhatched eggs).

Following this shampoo legs once every 2-3 weeks with Selsun (from boots) about 100g for all four legs. Some also have success with Nozoral... After a while reduce the frequency of shampooing - I maintain on one shampoo per month - roughly.

I also keep his legs clipped (about every 5 weeks). When I've suspected a poss return of the horrible critters, I've used frontline spray, again 12 ish days apart.

Must say that apart from the monthly shampoo I've not treated for mites at all this year and it's over 2 years since the Dectomax
 
I have given it to all three of mine and two others in the past with no problems at all. It's also the standard treatment for mange, and I have it to my mini twice in fourteen days.

Sore feet are commonly reported after worming by barefoot horse owners, i don't know of doramectin is any worse than the others.

It's not licensed in horses but that's not because it doesn't work out is known to be unsafe, it's because they haven't paid to have the testing done for horses.
 
ycbm said:
I have given it to all three of mine and two others in the past with no problems at all. It's also the standard treatment for mange, and I have it to my mini twice in fourteen days.

Sore feet are commonly reported after worming by barefoot horse owners, i don't know of doramectin is any worse than the others.

It's not licensed in horses but that's not because it doesn't work out is known to be unsafe, it's because they haven't paid to have the testing done for horses.
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I wasn't refering to the occasional footiness after worming some horses may suffer or not, I was meaning full blown laminitis. To me that would be a risk.
 
paddy555 said:
I wasn't refering to the occasional footiness after worming some horses may suffer or not, I was meaning full blown laminitis. To me that would be a risk.
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Sore feet after worming is low grade laminitis. A horse which is already on the edge and is affected by wormers could be tipped over into full blown laminitis by worming. October is peak time for laminitis attacks, so your friend's case may, or may not, have been caused by doramectin. And if it was, there isn't, I think, any evidence to show that it would not also have been caused by the use of any other wormer, is there? Or am I misunderstanding you?
 
ycbm said:
Sore feet after worming is low grade laminitis. A horse which is already on the edge and is affected by wormers could be tipped over into full blown laminitis by worming. October is peak time for laminitis attacks, so your friend's case may, or may not, have been caused by doramectin. And if it was, there isn't, I think, any evidence to show that it would not also have been caused by the use of any other wormer, is there? Or am I misunderstanding you?
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i am simply suggesting that people using dectomax should be very careful. It has been known to cause laminitis.
One of my liveries (not recently and not even in October) asked my vet to use dectomax. My vet who has many years experince and a lot with horses rang the manufacturers to specifically discuss its use as they were not happy. The vets then advised very strongly not to use it. We obviously took their advice and didn't thank goodness. I had no idea then that it could lead to laminitis in some horses. I just thought it was a safe injection available for horses that was simply not licensed to them.

Each to his own. If you are happy to take the risk then no problem, it's simply not one I would be happy taking. Everyone has to do their own research and make up their own mind.
 
paddy555 said:
i am simply suggesting people using dectomax should be very careful. It has been known to cause laminitis.
One of my liveries (not recently and not even in October) asked my vet to use dectomax. My vet who has many years experince and a lot with horses rang the manufacturers to specifically discuss its use as they were not happy. The vets then advised very strongly not to use it. We obviously took their advice and didn't thank goodness. I had no idea then that it could lead to laminitis in some horses. I just thought it was a safe injection available for horses that was simply not licensed to them.

Each to his own. If you are happy to take the risk then no problem, it's simply not one I would be happy taking. Everyone has to do their own research and make up their own mind.
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I'm not arguing with you Paddy555, this is for other people's info. I've scoured Google for any evidence at all the Dectomax causes laminitis any more than any other strong wormer, and the only evidence I can find at all is a very small number of posts on forums like this by people who have known a single horses develop laminitis immediately after dectomax/doramectin use, and a large number of 'dectomax causes laminitis' posts by people who've never actually seen a case but just know it's 'common knowledge'

There is information on the websites of leading vet practices explaining that they use dectomax for mane and for feather mites and I have yet to find one which warns of laminitis, though there may be some.

The manufacturer can't encourage any vet to use its product in an unlicensed way, so any vet that rings them will find little encouragement and possible discouragement.

BUT barefooters are well aware that strong systemic (go into the body, not just acting in the gut) wormers, of which doramectin is one, cause laminitis, so it's probably unwise to risk it unless it's a last resort in any horse known to be a laminatic risk, and the same goes for praziquantel dual womers (too many chemicals at once, I was told by the rep of the company that makes it!) and for moxidectin (too strong). The problem is, of course, that the very horses which suffer feather mites are among those most likely to be EMS/IR and teetering on the brink of laminitis.
 
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My barefoot mare had the dectomax injection, two jabs a fortnight apart. I had to sign a form to consent to use of an unlicensed medication. She was fine, no footiness, mites cleared up, jobs a good 'un!
 
paddy555 said:
I would be worried about the risk of laminitis and I would be even more worried about laminitis in a cushings horse. There is one young horse on another forum that ended up with laminitis after a dectomax injection very recently.
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I suppose with anything there's a risk but I'm not convinced it's any worse than as ycbm said any other avermectin based wormer, guess it's between each individual owner and vet. There's another avermectic based jab who's drugs company are happy for it to be used with horses but can't for the life of me remember what it's called.
 
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